(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a sliding closing element, in particular a sliding door or a sliding window, for a sliding closing element arrangement of a vehicle, in particular of an aircraft. The present invention is further related to a sliding closing element arrangement of a vehicle, in particular of an aircraft. The present invention is further related to a vehicle, in particular an aircraft, comprising a sliding closing element arrangement with a sliding closing element, in particular a sliding door or a sliding window.
(2) Description of Related Art
Sliding closing elements in a vehicle, such as sliding doors or sliding windows, which are used to open or close corresponding apertures provided in the vehicle, are usually guided on the vehicle via suitable guide rails at a predetermined distance along an outer surface of the vehicle up to a height of a corresponding aperture provided in the vehicle, and are then guided into the aperture via suitably curved or bent ends of the guide rails. In general, such sliding closing elements must be moved manually from a corresponding opening position along the guide rails and must furthermore be locked manually in a corresponding closing position in the aperture of the vehicle.
Conventional sliding closing elements usually comprise one or more bogie support arms that are rigidly mounted to a plate-shaped support of the sliding closing element via an associated mounting plate by means of suitable fasteners, such as screws. If, for instance, the sliding closing element implements a sliding door, the one or more bogie support arms are e.g. rigidly mounted to a door leaf of this sliding door. Each one of the one or more bogie support arms supports one or more bogie assemblies with associated guide rollers that are adapted for rolling along a given guide rail in operation. The one or more bogie assemblies, i.e. the associated guide rollers, are adapted for engaging the given guide rail in an accommodation provided on or in the given guide rail.
In particular in aircrafts, sliding closing elements such as sliding doors or sliding windows are subject to very high aerodynamic forces during flight, which can lead to a loss of the sliding closing elements during flight, e.g. in case of a failure such as a rupture of the one or more bogie support arms thereof. However, it is clear that for safety reasons and according to applicable regulations, such as the EASA regulations, it is imperatively necessary to keep the sliding closing element on the aircraft under all circumstances, i.e. also in case of failure respectively rupture of the one or more bogie support arms thereof during flight.
Therefore, comparatively heavy bogie support arms for sliding closing elements in aircrafts have been developed to resist and to match with all flight conditions. Likewise, an underlying sizing of each part of a given bogie support arm associated with a sliding closing element can be increased, such as e.g. an underlying dimension of guide rollers of a bogie assembly or an underlying dimension of a connector beam that connects the bogie assembly to an associated mounting plate of the bogie support arm etc. In both cases an over-dimensioning of the bogie support arm as a whole arises.
However, due to such an over-dimensioning of each part and, consequently, of the bogie support arm as a whole, a resulting overall weight of the given bogie support arm is significantly increased compared to the conventional bogie support arm. Furthermore, in term of costs correspondingly required machining elements are very expensive with conventional solutions/configurations.
Moreover, it is not only forbidden, but also highly critical and dangerous to lose, for instance, a sliding closing element of an aircraft during flight, e.g. above a city or other plants. In addition, a sliding closing element that is lost during flight may e.g. collide with and, thus, potentially destroy an engine, a wing or a counter-torque device of a corresponding aircraft, thus endangering crew and passengers of this aircraft. This is not acceptable with today's EASA regulations.